Need help with the Friday, October 31, 2025, NYT Mini? Start with the gentle hints below, then open the clearly marked answer key when you’re ready. The last two Across entries combine into the rebus answer CASE.
Gentle hints for the October 31 Mini
These nudges preserve the puzzle’s clue order without giving away every fill at once.
- Across 1: The Buffalo hockey player is named for a weapon.
- Across 2: A frequent customer orders their regular choice.
- Across 3: A volcano contains molten rock beneath the surface.
- Across 4: To adjust to a new environment is to change to fit it.
- Across 5 and 6: Read these two entries together for the last car on a train; the answer is split across the grid.
- Down 1: This shrub shares its name with a spice.
- Down 2: The missing word in carne ___ is a familiar Spanish term for grilled meat.
- Down 3: The reported fill is an imaginary cause of fear.
- Down 4: These provide accessible alternatives to staircases.
- Down 5: To make someone extremely happy is to delight them.
Full answer key
Spoilers below: the answers are listed in the puzzle’s Across and Down order.
Across
- SABRE — Buffalo hockey player
- USUAL — “I’ll have the ___” (frequent customer’s order)
- MAGMA — Contents of a volcano
- ADAPT — Adjust to a new environment
- CA — With 6-Across, last car on a train
- SE — Completes 5-Across
The two final Across fills, CA and SE, combine to form CASE. That split is the puzzle’s rebus feature.
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Down
- SUMAC — “Poison” shrub
- ASADA — Carne ___
- BUGA — Imaginary cause of fear
- RAMPS — Accessible alternatives to staircases
- ELATE — Make extremely happy
Parade and Alpha Leaders report the same dated clue-and-answer set. The answer key above follows those reports; no claim is made here of independently checking the historical NYT grid. Parade’s October 31, 2025 answer report and Alpha Leaders’ clue and answer list are the cited records.
Why this is the 2025 puzzle
The title’s Friday date points to October 31, 2025; October 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday. Parade labels its answer report Friday, October 31, 2025, and Alpha Leaders’ dated list corroborates the entries.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where to play or revisit a Mini
The New York Times describes the Mini as a smaller version of its Crossword: players fill white squares by solving Across and Down clues. NYT lists the Games app, nytimes.com/crosswords, and the News app as places to play. Its Help Center says a subscription that includes Games access is required; availability and access terms may change. See NYT’s Mini Crossword help page for current details.
NYT says each daily Mini is available the evening before its publish date: weekdays and Saturdays at 10 p.m. EST the prior day, and Sundays at 6 p.m. EST on Saturday. In the puzzle, Check and Reveal can apply to a square, an answer, or the whole puzzle. For older puzzles, the NYT Crossword Archive help page explains how to switch to Mini, choose a month and year, and select a puzzle; archive access depends on subscription and other access terms described there.
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